


Monster Challenge

by viperscreed



Category: Original Work
Genre: Monsters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 07:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3241292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viperscreed/pseuds/viperscreed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stories using fuckyeahmonstergirl's 30 day monster challenge. (Will not be updated daily cause nah)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monster Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Okay I know this was supposed to be about harpies but I wanted to write about sirens so I wrote about sirens.

                “Are you sure this is wise, a ship is meant for the ocean not rivers.” An old sailor worn by sun and salt, asked his captain. His frown carved deeper into his face when his superior responded with a laugh.

                “Do not worry my friend, the rivers of the Opal Isles are as deep as the cliff walls are high, we just have to avoid any of those waterfalls and we’ll be fine.” The captain dismissed the other’s concerns, confidence ringing in his voice.

                “And what of the harpies?” The elder inquired, wringing his calloused hands together. 

                “Ludwig, if there’s anything my crew can handle it’s a few ugly birds.” The captain laughed again though he quieted as they approached the island.

                The towering, black rock face stretched into the distant fog, the moon shimmering off its surface that had been polished by millions of waves over hundreds of years. The ship drifted into a large split in the in the rock, nearly grazing a boulder near its mouth.

                The crew was deadly silent and the creaks of the ship echoed of the cliff walls. A few crewmen held lanterns to light the way when the moon couldn’t reach them.

                The first sign of trouble came when a few rocks just too big to be blown over tumbled down into the water. What appeared to be the silhouette of a large bird walked along the cliff edge, leisurely trailing the ship.

                That’s when the singing started.

                “Harpies don’t sing.” The captain hissed at Ludwig. A sharp chill shot through his chest like a bullet.

                Ludwig quickly pulled his rosemary out from under his coat and began whispering to it. The river was far too narrow to even attempt to turn around would get them in a wreck. He knew it was too late to pray that they go unnoticed but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

                A crewman quietly walked up the steps to the helm, stealing glances skyward.

                “Captain, have you ever crossed with sirens before?” He asked nervously.

                The Captain swallowed thickly and shook his head. The crewman, more alarmed then before, returned to the deck and exchanged looks with his shipmates.

                The number of silhouettes only grew as the ship proceeded through passages, a few circling above. The song had long gone quiet thankfully for the crew otherwise they wouldn’t have noticed the siren that glided down to land behind their Captain.

                Her grey plumage was sleek and moonlight shimmered off her feathers, seemingly unaffected by her years by the sea. The elegant face she beared was round with dark, unmarred skin. She turned her face to the Captain despite her eyes being closed and just as he reached for his sword she opened her mouth.

“Upon one summer's morning, I carefully did stray,

Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay.”

                The Captain froze as did the rest of his crew as the siren sang for them, their limbs went slack as their gazes locked on her. A few unaccounted for crewmen lumbered up from down below to attend the little concert they were being treated to.

                Seemingly pleased with her captive audience the siren settled back on her legs, folding her wings snugly to her sides.

                “Conversing with a bouncing lass, who seemed to be in pain,

                 Saying, William, when you go, I fear you will never return again.”

                  The restless sirens above finally dived down to snatch men off the deck. They carried them off into the dark sky and the men didn’t so much as whimper as talons dug into them.

                  The ship, without anyone to guide it, grazed a boulder casing it to tilt and tremble before it righted itself. The hull luckily didn’t break but did gain a long scrape in the boards.

                   “His hair it does in ringlets hang, his eyes as black as sloes,

                    May happiness attend him wherever he goes.”

                    Down in the hold a young man was knocked out of his hammock. He looked around with a furrowed brow, running a hand through his dark hair. Usually when his was thrown from his hammock it was by an older shipmate. He pulled himself to his feet and dressed, frustrated the others had let him sleep in.

                     “From Tower Hill, down to Blackwall, I will wander, weep and moan,

                      All for my jolly sailor bold, until he does return.”

                      The young man groggily ascended to the deck. He approached the first shipmate he saw and his hands moved together as he tried communicate with the other when he was ignored he raised his hands directly into the other’s line of site and tried again then in a last ditch effort he waved his hand in the other’s face.

                       “My father is a merchant—the truth I now will tell,

                        And in great London City in opulence doth dwell.”

                        With a deep frown the young man glared at his crewmate before following his gaze to where the beast stood. His eyes widened and he jumped back, his gaze swept over his shipmates taking in their hypnotized state.

                        He watched helplessly as one of the men he’d considered a friend was grabbed by a red feathered siren.

                       “His fortune doth exceed three hundred thousand gold,

                        And he frowns upon his daughter, 'cause she loves a sailor bold.”

                        His turned to the grey siren, eyes watering and visage tinted red. He pulled a dagger from his belt and stormed up the stairs to where the siren sat.

                        The siren stood as he approached, spreading her wings to make herself appear bigger. She raised her voice in an attempt to break through to the unusual human.

                         “A fig for his riches, his merchandize, and gold,

                         True love is grafted in my heart; give me my sailor bold.”

                         The siren fluttered back when the young man swung at her with his blade and her feathers stood on end. She finally opened her eyelids to reveal the black abysses behind them and her lips curled back to show sharp, gnarled fangs.

                         The young man shuddered when he made eye contact with the beast but he pushed forward.

                         “Should he return in poverty, from over the ocean far,

                         To my tender bosom, I'll fondly press my jolly tar.”

                         The young man swung again and the siren jumped back onto the railing. She turned her eyes up but her flockmates were too focused on targeting a sailor or attending to the one they caught to come to her aid.

                         “My sailor is as smiling as the pleasant month of May,

                         And often we have wandered through Ratcliffe Highway.”

                         The third swing made contact cutting into the siren’s thin leg. She snarled, that strangely didn’t interrupt her song, and lashed out with her claws at the young man knocking him to the floor.

                         The young man gasped painfully as the wind returned to his lungs and he rolled onto his side. His eyes widened as he watched his dagger balanced between two railing posts threatening to topple over into water. A threat made good when the ship grazed another boulder sending the blade into the icy river below.

                        “Where many a pretty blooming girl we happy did behold,

                         Reclining on the bosom of her jolly sailor bold.”

                         The siren hissed softly as she side-stepped along the railing towards him, her tail feathers flared wide. The blood that had trickled down the scaly skin of her leg had begun to blacken and the skin around the wound reddened.

                         The young man scrambled to his feet and he quickly began looking for a weapon. He spotted the sword that hung loosely in the Captain’s grip.

                         “Come all you pretty fair maids, whoever you may be

                          Who love a jolly sailor bold that ploughs the raging sea.”

                          He reached for the sword and felt a burning in his chest. He looked down to see three long slashes through her shirt, revealing the tight binding around his chest, the fabric starting to darken. A hiss from the siren was all the motivation he needed to ignore the pain and grab the sword.

                          “While up aloft, in storm or gale, from me his absence mourn,

                          And firmly pray, arrive the day, he home will safe return.”

                          The siren snapped her ugly teeth at him and wailed when the sword slide along her face, the wound was shallow but it would scar. The blade of the sword was quickly caught between her teeth and she turned her head trying to break the blade. The siren’s lips no longer moved but her song continued, the flock needed these sailors.

                           “My name it is Maria, a merchant's daughter fair,

                           And I have left my parents and three thousand pounds a year.”

                           The young man pulled the blade back, cutting the siren’s gums. His breaths were labored and sweat was staining his clothes.

                           They locked glares and the young man wasn’t sure what he saw in those eyes but it made him seasick for the first time in years.

                           “My heart is pierced by Cupid, I disdain all glittering gold.”

                           The siren suddenly calmed, feathers smoothing and she stood up straight. She opened her wings wide, the underside had white spotting.

                           The young man held his sword steady prepared to retaliate against whatever the siren was planning.

                           “There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor.”

                           The siren released the railing floating into the air as the ship tilted.

                           “Bold.”


End file.
